Autumn

The days are getting shorter and the weather less clement. The trees are still green, but with amber accents. It's time to get away, but there's just too much going on.

School is out, but the worries of seeing a school system groaning under the burden of too much to do for too little cash are not reassuring. Certainly not when you still have a son to go through secondary school. There aren't enough good schools.

I am glad to see a healthy development in England. At last there's growing awareness of the benefits of play and the dangers of a formal education too young. If you try and teach four year olds to read, some will manage, but even more will be put off school for life.

A great contribution to this debate by Ken Robinson.